Today’s guest is the wonderful essayist and poet Amy Key, whose memoir Arrangements in Blue about her life as a single woman for the past 20 years, has touched so many people since it came out in 2023. I remember walking to the bookshop on publication day because I already knew that it was going to be one of those books, that I wouldn’t say: change the way you see the world but rather those books that fill this space inside of you that for such a long time felt misunderstood or unseen perhaps. And it really did that for me. 

Amy Key's socials:

Instagram: @msamykey

Substack: amykey.substack.com

Things that were mentioned:

- Amy Key, Arrangements in Blue

- Ann Patchett, This is a story about a happy marriage

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- Things That Are Different Now by Sophia Hembeck ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Thank you so much for listening, please like & subscribe to get the next episodes!

Follow me on :

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@sophiahembeck ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Writing: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠themuseletter.substack.com ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Write Or Die

Whether you’re staring at a blank page, deep in revisions, dreaming up your next big idea, or figuring out how to get published, Write or Die has a workshop for you. They offer live, virtual classes across genres — from fiction and nonfiction to screenwriting and even book series development — all designed to meet you where you are in your writing journey.
Taught by working writers and industry pros, our workshops are craft-focused, community-driven, and meant to energize your process — whether you're plotting your first novel or polishing your tenth essay. Plus, they’re also a literary magazine that champions bold, unforgettable voices by publishing creative nonfiction, author interviews and short stories. Their submissions are currently open and they are also running their first ever fiction contest with up to $1000 in prizes. Check out their upcoming classes and join the community at writeordiemag.com.

This is a special solo episode where I talk about the 10 things that radically shifted my life for the better.

Featuring the launch of my new book Things That Are Different Now.

Which you can order here: https://www.museletterpublishing.com

In today’s episode I am talking to the very very cool Elle Nash. Elle is a writer, editor and lecturer who has published multiple novels over the last decade.  Her debut novel, Animals Eat Each Other was kind of a surprise indie success, in 2018, it was featured in The Oprah Magazine and praised by Publishers Weekly as a “complex, impressive exploration of obsession and desire.”  She’s since then wrote the short story collection Nudes (2021), the novella Gag Reflex (2022), and  her latest novel Deliver Me (2023). Just from reading these titles you can hear that Elle’s work trangresses between body horror, a lingering erotiscims and an almost unsettling vulnerability which is also the vibe that comes across in her substack Fuck Marry Kill and her instagram handle @saderotica. 

Things that were mentioned:

- Find all of Elle's books ⁠here⁠⁠

- The Blair Witch Project 1999

- Ursula K. Le Guin, Lavinia

- Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club & Invisible Monsters

- Chloe Caldwell, Women

⁠⁠⁠⁠- Things That Are Different Now by Sophia Hembeck ⁠⁠⁠⁠

Thank you so much for listening, please like & subscribe to get the next episodes!

Follow me on :

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@sophiahembeck ⁠⁠⁠⁠

Writing: ⁠⁠⁠⁠themuseletter.substack.com ⁠⁠⁠⁠

Shop: ⁠⁠⁠⁠museletterpublishing.com ⁠⁠⁠

REFERRAL CODE FOR OCTOPUS ENERGY:

Use this link to sign up to Octopus Energy and get £50 in credit.

⁠https://share.octopus.energy/wind-star-923⁠

CONDITIONS:

This offer may be revoked at any time.

In today’s episode I am talking to the magical  Morvern Graham. Morvern is a printmaker, illustrator and storyteller, who is currently growing a huge following on social media with her incredible storytelling videos of Scottish and Scandinavian folklore that intertwine mythology, her own visual art building a connection with her surroundings and the seasons. I saw Morvern perform here in Edinburgh at the Typewronger Bookshop a few weeks ago, where she told the story about how the oceans became salty, which centered around two female giants and I was so impressed because, it’s kind of rare I think that people who are online actually have the same kind of presence in reality but she was exactly the same. 

Follow Morvern on Instagram here.

And her website here.

Things that were mentioned:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- get Morvern Graham's book The Huldufólk here

- Leith, Edinburgh

⁠⁠⁠- Things That Are Different Now by Sophia Hembeck ⁠⁠⁠

Thank you so much for listening, please like & subscribe to get the next episodes!

Follow me on :

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠@sophiahembeck ⁠⁠⁠

Writing: ⁠⁠⁠themuseletter.substack.com ⁠⁠⁠

Shop: ⁠⁠⁠museletterpublishing.com ⁠⁠

REFERRAL CODE FOR OCTOPUS ENERGY:

Use this link to sign up to Octopus Energy and get £50 in credit.

https://share.octopus.energy/wind-star-923

CONDITIONS:

This offer may be revoked at any time.

Today’s guest is the marvellous Megan Nolan, a journalist, essayist and author of two novels called Acts Of Desperation and Ordinary Human Failings. I remember reading Acts of Desperation which is a book about a pretty harrowing toxic romantic relationship and the reason why I remember it so well, is because when it came out, I was in a toxic relationship myself and I didn’t want to read it. And then after that ended I finally did and I realised: probably should have done that earlier.

Follow Megan Nolan on Instagram here.

Things that were mentioned:

⁠⁠⁠- ⁠All of Megan Nolan's books here

- Little Women, 1990

⁠⁠- Things That Are Different Now by Sophia Hembeck ⁠⁠

Thank you so much for listening, please like & subscribe to get the next episodes!

Follow me on :

Instagram: ⁠⁠@sophiahembeck ⁠⁠

Writing: ⁠⁠themuseletter.substack.com ⁠⁠

Shop: ⁠⁠museletterpublishing.com ⁠

REFERRAL CODE FOR METTLE BUSINESS BANK ACCOUNT:

1. Go to⁠ https://www.mettle.co.uk⁠

2. Open a bank account.

3. Within the first 30 days make a card payment and enter the code in the app.

4. CODE: FXVV6

5. Once the referral is verified you'll receive £50 in your bank account.

CONDITIONS:

You must have a side hustle, limited company with up to 2 owners, or be a sole trader. You must be based in the UK.

This offer will end on 30th June 2025.

This offer can be withdrawn at any time.

In today's episode I am talking-to the wonderful Fariha Róisín. Fariha is a multidisciplinary artist born in Canada, raised in Australia and now based in Los Angeles, California.

They're a Muslim queer Bangladeshi interested in the margins, liminality, otherness, and the mercurial nature of being. They're the author of the poetry collections, How to Cure a Ghost and Survival Takes A Wild Imagination and the novel Like a Bird. Or so it says in the book jacket of their latest nonfiction hybrid memoir, Who is Wellness For?

I've come across Fariha's work five years ago via their substack, which is also called How to Cure a Ghost and named after their first poetry collection. And another thing that actually connects us is that when I was writing my second book, Things I Have Loved, I asked Fariha to quote a line from an essay that she wrote and they so kindly said yes. And so it feels a bit like a full circle moment for me to have you here on the podcast today.

Follow Fariha on Instagram here and read her substack How To Cure A Ghost here.

Things that were mentioned:

⁠- All of Fariha's books here

- Braiding Sweetgrass & The Service Berry by Robin Wall Kimmerer

- The podcast episode Fariha mentioned with the philosopher Bayo Akomolafe

⁠- Things That Are Different Now by Sophia Hembeck ⁠

Thank you so much for listening, please like & subscribe to get the next episodes!

Follow me on :

Instagram: ⁠@sophiahembeck ⁠

Writing: ⁠themuseletter.substack.com ⁠

Shop: ⁠museletterpublishing.com

In today’s episode I am talking to the hilarious Will McPhail whose cartoons are frequently published in The New Yorker. He wrote an incredibly beautiful graphic novel called IN about a twenty something guy called Nick who the girlies on TikTok would call emotionally unavailable but who is desperately trying to change, trying to connect. 

He‘s amassed a huge following on instagram, @willmcphail4 where he shares his insightful observations about the human condition and his obsession with key lime pie. 

Things that were mentioned:

- Key Lime Pie

- IN by Will McPhail

- Pleasantville (1998)

- Dune (1984)

- Things That Are Different Now by Sophia Hembeck

Thank you so much for listening, please like & subscribe to get the next episodes!

Follow me on :

Instagram: @sophiahembeck

Writing: themuseletter.substack.com

Shop: museletterpublishing.com

REFERRAL CODE FOR METTLE BUSINESS BANK ACCOUNT:

1. Go to https://www.mettle.co.uk

2. Open a bank account.

3. Within the first 30 days make a card payment and enter the code in the app.

4. CODE: FXVV6

5. Once the referral is verified you'll receive £50 in your bank account.

CONDITIONS:

You must have a side hustle, limited company with up to 2 owners, or be a sole trader. You must be based in the UK.

This offer will end on 30th June 2025.

This offer can be withdrawn at any time.

A podcast where writer and multi-disciplinary artist Sophia Hembeck talks to writers, artists and other creative people about their pivotal life-changing moments, their successes, their setbacks and in general how they ended up in the life they're living today.

How do we change? What makes us unstuck? How can we elicit the change that we so desperately crave in our lives sometimes? 

Show notes:

Things That Are Different Now by Sophia Hembeck

Out on 15th May 2025, pre-order here:

https://www.museletterpublishing.com

Follow on:

Instagram @sophiahembeck

Read:

themuseletter.substack.com